Cubify no more

Cubify 2.0

It was inevitable, we all knew that 3D Systems was discontinuing the Cubify brand but an email sent out to all cubify.com members has confirmed this happening sooner rather than later, this weekend in fact.

If, like me, you have a Cubify account effective of Jan 31. 2016 it will be transferred to 3D Systems Shop, which will not include paid for retail products like the ill fated phone cases, fashion and jewellery.

3D Systems are also discontinuing the 'Design Feed' and 'My Shelf' cloud storage, which means that any designs you have created and stored on the platform will disappear, it is recommended that you login into your Cubify by tomorrow and download any designs that you have stored there to your local computer.

It does feel as if that Cubify was a particularly Reichental endeavour, it was very quickly cut off after Avi departed the company and was clearly haemorrhaging money and at CES 2016, gone were the Fresh Fiber fashion designs, 'Mancave' bottle holders, and in its place was metal 3D printing of aerospace parts and ultra fast SLA process.

It is a shame for those that have significantly invested in the Cubify brand, buying printers, designs, consumables etc but 3D Systems have ensured those consumers that items like the Cube 3 propietary cartridges will be available for a further five years. Though what has happened to the will.i.am Ekocycle cartridges - made from 25% recycling Coke bottles - and the CCO himself remains a mystery.

It's a sad day that such an ambitious adventure in consumer level 3D Printing is ending but the quality of the mobile apps and lack of update on Cubify's designs always felt like perhaps this was a company spreading themselves a little too thin. It is clear from the sales posted by the likes of Zortrax, Lulzbot et al that desktop 3D printing is not dead, far from it, but that perhaps it is best left to those master of one trade rather than Jacks like 3DS.